CHAPTER 23: Analysis of Biotin (Vitamin B₇) and Folic Acid (Vitamin B₉): A Focus on Immunosensor Development with Liposomal Amplification

Rapid growth in the development of immunosensors for the screening of biologically and environmentally important target molecules has been seen in the past decade. Because of their high sensitivity, rapidity and simplicity of operation, immunosensors are among the most powerful tools for selectively detecting various physiological, biological and environmental substances. The demand for the determination of food B vitamins (such as folic acid and biotin) is increasing progressively and so there is an ongoing need for simpler, faster, less expensive, more reliable and more user-friendly analytical tools. In addition to the currently available conventional methods, this chapter describes the key features of newly developed biosensors and competitive liposome immunosensors for the analysis of biotin (vitamin B7) and folic acid (vitamin B9).